Notes: The first book of the Widdershins series. Formerly known as Household Gods.

Set in a more Renaissance-style setting, rather than the more traditional Medieval fantasy, Thief’s Covenant is also my first foray into Young Adult fiction. That said, I think all my adult readers will find it just as appealing as my others works.

Once she was Adrienne Satti. An orphan of Davillon, she had somehow escaped destitution and climbed to the ranks of the city’s aristocracy in a rags-to-riches story straight from an ancient fairy tale. Until one horrid night, when a conspiracy of forces—human and other—stole it all away in a flurry of blood and murder.

Today she is Widdershins, a thief making her way through Davillon’s underbelly with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and the mystical aid of Olgun, a foreign god with no other worshippers but Widdershins herself. It’s not a great life, certainly nothing compared to the one she once had, but it’s hers.

But now, in the midst of Davillon’s political turmoil, an array of hands are once again rising up against her, prepared to tear down all that she’s built. The City Guard wants her in prison. Members of her own Guild want her dead. And something horrid, something dark, something ancient is reaching out for her, a past that refuses to let her go. Widdershins and Olgun are going to find answers, and justice, for what happened to her—but only if those who almost destroyed her in those years gone by don’t finish the job first.

——————

Since this is my first foray into YA, I thought I’d post a few links to reviewers whose opinions on YA materials carry more weight than mine do. Also, I’m showing off.

Notes: The second book of the Widdershins series. Formerly known as Witch Hunt.

A sequel to Thief’s Covenant, the first Widdershins adventure, False Covenant continues my (and Pyr’s) foray into Young Adult fantasy. But as with the prior book, I anticipate that this should still appeal to my adult fans as well.

Notes: Described by my previous agent as “The Lord of the Rings meets Inglorious Basterds,” The Goblin Corps postulates a traditional epic fantasy of good vs. evil–and then follows the villains, rather than the so-called heroes. Both darker in some ways, and more humorous in others, than my previously published works, The Goblin Corps is a heavily sarcastic, brutally bloody, and exceedingly foulmouthed romp in the footsteps of evil’s minions.

Centuries of plotting from the heart of the Iron Keep, deep within the dark lands of Kirol Syrreth—all for naught. Foiled at the last by the bumbling efforts of a laughable band of so-called heroes, brainless and over-muscled cretins without sense enough to recognize a hopeless cause when they take it on. Machinations developed over generations, schemes intended to deliver the world into the Dark Lord’s hands, now devastated beyond salvation. But the so-called forces of Light have paid for their meddling with the life of Princess Amalia, the only child of the royal family of Shauntille.

Now, as winter solidifies its icy grip on the passes of the Brimstone Mountains, disturbing news has reached the court of Morthûl. King Dororam, enraged by the murder of his only child—and accompanied by that same group of delusional upstart “heroes”—is assembling all the Allied Kingdoms, fielding an army unlike any seen before. The armies of Kirol Syrreth muster to meet the attack that is sure to come as soon as the snows have melted from the mountain paths, but their numbers are sorely depleted. Still, after uncounted centuries of survival, the Dark Lord isn’t about to go down without a fight, particularly in battle against a mortal! No, the Charnel King still has a few tricks up his putrid and tattered sleeves, and the only thing that can defeat him now…

May just be the inhuman soldiers on whom he’s pinned his last hopes.

Welcome to the Goblin Corps. May the best man lose.

“I can’t remember the last time I so thoroughly enjoyed a thumping great-big-action fantasy novel. …a big, loud, stadium concert of a book. It is unashamed. It is exciting, funny, dramatic, emotional, and utterly readable. It takes fantasy stereotypes, shoves them in your face, and dares you not to be entertained by them. It’s just great fun to read and we all like fun, right?”–James Barclay, author of The Chronicles of the Raven

“Marmell has cleverly turned the bad guys into good guys without cleaning up a single drop of blood or amending anyone’s ill manners. The Goblin Corps serves up gore and guile with a side of amusement—a great read for anyone who’s ever wondered what the world looks like from the sinister side!”–Kevin Hearne, author of The Iron Druid Chronicles

They called him the Terror of the East. His past shrouded in mystery, his identity hidden beneath a suit of enchanted black armor and a skull-like helm, Corvis Rebaine carved a bloody path through Imphallion, aided by Davro, a savage ogre, and Seilloah, a witch with a taste for human flesh. No shield or weapon could stop his demon-forged axe. And no magic could match the spells of his demon slave, Khanda.Yet just when ultimate victory was in his grasp, Rebaine faltered. His plans of conquest, born from a desire to see Imphallion governed with firmness and honesty, shattered. Amid the chaos of a collapsing army, Rebaine vanished, taking only a single hostage—the young noblewoman Tyannon—to guarantee his escape.

Seventeen years later, Rebaine and Tyannon are married, living in obscurity and raising their children, a daughter and a son. Rebaine has put his past behind him, given up his dreams of conquest. Not even news of Audriss—an upstart warlord following Rebaine’s old path of conquest—can stir the retired warrior to action.

Until his daughter is assaulted by Audriss’s goons.

Now, to rescue the country he once tried to conquer, Rebaine once more dons the armor of the Terror of the East and seeks out his former allies. But Davro has become a peaceful farmer. Seilloah has no wish to leave her haunted forest home. And Khanda . . . well, to describe his feelings for his former master as undying hatred would be an understatement.

But even if Rebaine can convince his onetime comrades to join him, he faces a greater challenge: Does he dare to reawaken the part of him that gloried in cruelty, blood, and destruction? With the safety of his family at stake, can he dare not to?

“The Conqueror’s Shadow is a powerful fantasy, with well drawn heroes and delightfully wicked, yet complicated, villains. Ari Marmell has made his mark in the genre.” –Paul S. Kemp, author of The Erevis Cale Trilogy

“The Conqueror’s Shadow offers readers a tale that begins where most stories end and features a most unlikely protagonist. Twists of humor leaven this story of desperate people in dangerous times, as a conqueror discovers that perhaps those who live by the sword are sometimes doomed to face the business end of one. A great mix of character and action.” –Robin Hobb, author of Dragon Keeper

“It’s not often that a fantasy starts off with the victorious conqueror of a city and a land almost immediately and deliberately vanishing at the height of his victory—but that’s exactly what happens withFrom that decision flows a plot jammed with action, repercussions, a tender love story, and a most humorously intriguing conclusion.” –L. E. Modesitt, Jr., author of the Saga of Recluce

“Superior storytelling and deft dialog make this a top-notch choice.” –Library Journal

“Ari Marmell has a remarkable flair for the sinister.” –Scott Lynch, author of The Lies of Locke Lamora

You do not need to be familiar with the settings of the Magic: The Gathering game to enjoy this book. Agents of Artifice was deliberately written to be accessible and to appeal to newcomers and Magic fans alike.

It is the dawn of a new age in the Multiverse. The balance of power is shifting and Agents of Artifice brings readers to the heart of a planeswalker struggle…

In Agents of Artifice, Ari Marmell reimagines planeswalkers, taking fans deeper than ever into the lives of the Multiverse’s most powerful beings: Jace Beleren(TM), the prodigal son, a powerful telepath whose choices now will forever determine his path as a mage; Liliana Vess(TM), a temptress whose beauty belies a dark secret and even darker associations; and Tezzeret(TM), leader of an interplanar consortium whose quest for knowledge may be undone by his lust for power.

Follow these characters in their quests for knowledge and power. Will Jace’s choices lead him astray of the right path? Will Liliana’s past finally catch up with her? Will Tezzeret allow hubris to obscure his vision?

Notes:Black Crusade was originally written to be one of the first of the Ravenloft: Dominion line of novels from Wizards of the Coast. “Ravenloft” is the name of a gothic horror/fantasy setting. Although Ravenloft was created for the Dungeons and Dragons game, the Dominion line was meant to give it a new flavor–specifically, rather than drawing characters and domains from various D&D worlds, it would draw them from various periods of real-world history. In the case of Black Crusade, that period was the First Crusade.

Alas, Black Crusade was pushed back on the schedule for marketing reasons, and thus became a victim when the line was canceled. The novel was done, however, and Wizards decided to make it available in electronic format. It was initially released chapter-by-chapter as a weekly serial, but it’s now available in completed form. While I’m disappointed that it won’t see print, I’m delighted that you folks are able to see it in some form.

The book is, perhaps, a tad more raw than I’d like–I’ve learned a lot in writing my subsequent novels, such as The Conqueror’s Shadow and Agents of Artifice, and I’d probably do things a little differently on Black Crusade if I had to go back and do it again. But I’m still quite proud of it, overall, and I hope you all enjoy reading it.

Credits: Sole author, minus a few editorial additions from the developer, Phil Boulle.

Notes: While the original version of this book is long out of print, it’s available used, but also as both a PDF and a print-on-demand paperback at DriveThruRPG.com. You can get it by clicking here.

The final novel for Vampire: The Masquerade (at least in its current incarnation), this is also my first published novel. My sincerest thanks to Phil for offering me the opportunity, and for his help in polishing the book to its current luster.